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Save Time, Money and Headaches by Avoiding These Common Mistakes Small restaurant owner dressed in chef whites using a tablet to enter expenses into an accounting software system.

Once you’ve “closed the books” for a fiscal year, you really shouldn’t go back to change them. Still, some accounting applications, such as QuickBooks, don’t allow you to lock a prior period financials so you can post current year’s entries in a prior period if you’re not careful. Other accounting software programs allow you to make this mistake if you haven’t configured the Software to lock prior period financials. Review Prior Period Balance Sheet for Changes If you’ve recorded transactions in a prior period, the balance sheet will change. Therefore, you can check your prior period balance sheet to make sure it hasn’t changed since you last closed your books. If it’s changed, you’ll need to investigate.

While it can be helpful for a small business to process transactions quickly with a high-powered accounting software program, paying to correct mistakes is something you’d like to avoid. Understanding the types of accounting mistakes that are commonly made can make a difference between having to pay to fix an error and getting it right the first time. Here are eight common accounting mistakes that business owners make and suggestions on how to fix them: